Persium Advisors LLC Takes Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Persium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,534 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,756,738,000 after buying an additional 2,285,276 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,190,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923,537 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,029,604,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350,381 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.0%

PFE opened at $23.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.00. The firm has a market cap of $132.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.36%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 124.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PFE. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.17.

Pfizer Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.